Extending functionality of workflow applications using instant messaging (IM)

ABSTRACT

Plug-ins for instant messaging (IM) systems are described. By using plug-ins in conjunction with IM systems, the functionality of IM systems may be greatly extended. Specifically, in business applications, such as workflow processes, IM provides a more reliable approach to determining actual delivery of messages.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication serial No. 60/411,336, filed Sep. 17, 2002; No. 60/416,916,filed Oct. 8, 2002; No. 60/419,613, filed Oct. 17, 2002; No. 60/426,145,filed Nov. 14, 2002; No. 60/426,146, filed Nov. 14, 2002; No.60/426,422, filed Nov. 14, 2002; No. 60/426,432, filed Nov. 14, 2002;and No. 60/426,440, filed Nov. 14, 2002. These provisional patentapplications are incorporated herein by reference as if set forth intheir entireties.

[0002] Additionally, this application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) ofU.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/274,405, filed Oct. 18, 2002, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application serial No.60/411,336, filed Sep. 17, 2002, and U.S. provisional patent applicationserial No. 60/419,613, filed on Oct. 17, 2002. This application is alsoa CIP of Ser. No. 10/274,408, filed Oct. 18, 2002, which claims thebenefit of U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/411,336,filed Sep. 17, 2002, and U.S. provisional patent application serial No.60/419,613, filed on Oct. 17, 2002. This application is also a CIP ofSer. No. 10/274,478, filed Oct. 18, 2002, which claims the benefit ofU.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/411,336, filed Sep.17, 2002, and U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/419,613,filed on Oct. 17, 2002. This application is also a CIP of Ser. No.10/368,099, filed Feb. 18, 2003, which claims the benefit of U.S.provisional patent application serial No. 60/419,613, filed Oct. 17,2002, which is entirely incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] All of these patent applications are incorporated herein byreference as if set forth in their entireties.

FIELD OF INVENTION

[0004] The present invention relates generally to the Internet and, moreparticularly, to instant messaging (IM).

BACKGROUND

[0005] Currently, instant messaging (IM) systems permit real-timecommunications between users. Typically, the real-time communicationsinclude text messaging, voice chat, and video conferencing. While thetext messaging, voice chat, and video conferencing may be sufficient forcertain interactions between users, these modes provide relativelylimited functionality for other applications.

[0006] Thus, a heretofore-unaddressed need exists in the industry toextend the functionality of IM systems.

SUMMARY

[0007] The present disclosure provides systems and methods for extendingfunctionality of instant messaging (IM) systems.

[0008] Briefly described, in architecture, one embodiment of the systemcomprises a workflow transport-protocol object (TPO) and an IM server.The workflow TPO is adapted to receive workflow requests from a workflowserver and format the workflow requests to generate an IM request datastream. In one embodiment, the workflow TPO is further adapted to conveythe IM request data stream to the IM server. The IM server is adapted toreceive the conveyed IM request data stream from the workflow TPO andconvey the IM request data stream to an IM client.

[0009] Another embodiment of the system comprises an IM client and aworkflow plug-in. The IM client is adapted to receive a workflowrequest. The workflow plug-in is adapted to process the workflowrequest.

[0010] The present disclosure also provides methods for extendingfunctionality of IM systems. In this regard, one embodiment of themethod comprises the steps of receiving a workflow request, which isdirected to a specified IM address, from a workflow server andformatting the received workflow request to generate an IM data stream.

[0011] Another embodiment of the method comprises the steps of receivinga workflow request at an IM client, determining if the IM client isregistered with a workflow plug-in, and executing the workflow plug-inin response to determining that the IM client is registered with theworkflow plug-in.

[0012] Other systems, methods, features, and advantages will be orbecome apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of thefollowing drawings and detailed description. It is intended that allsuch additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be includedwithin this description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views.

[0014]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a client-server environmenthaving an instant messaging (IM) client with extended functionalityresiding on a workstation.

[0015]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing components of the workstation ofFIG. 1 in greater detail.

[0016]FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the IM clientof FIG. 1 having extended functionality.

[0017]FIGS. 4 through 7 are data flow diagrams showing embodiments ofmethods for extending IM functionality, which may be performed by thesystems of FIG. 3A or 3B.

[0018]FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the IM clientof FIG. 1 that is specifically configured to incorporate workflowfunctionality.

[0019]FIGS. 9 through 17 are data flow diagrams showing embodiments ofmethods for extending IM functionality, which may be performed by thesystem of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Reference is now made in detail to the description of theembodiments as illustrated in the drawings. While several embodimentsare described in connection with these drawings, there is no intent tolimit the invention to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein.On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications,and equivalents.

[0021]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a client-server environmenthaving an instant messaging (IM) client 130 with extended functionality.The IM client 130 resides on a workstation 140. As shown in FIG. 1, inone embodiment, the workstation 140 is connected to the Internet 150,which serves as a backbone for communication between the workstation 140and server-side hardware 160. As is known, the server-side hardware 160may be connected to the Internet through a digital subscriber line (DSL)service, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) service, ananalog dial-up service, Ethernet, T-1, or any other service fortransmitting data through a network. Since connections to the Internet150 are known in the art, further discussion of such connections isomitted here. The workstation 140 may also be connected to the Internetthrough similar connections. In one embodiment, the server-side hardware160 is adapted to run an IM server 170 and a plug-in server 180. Thus,in operation, when the user logs in at the IM client 130, acommunication pathway is established between the IM client 130 and theIM server 170. The communication pathway permits server-mediated IMsessions or access to other IM server functions by the IM client 130,though server interaction is not necessarily included in allcommunications for some embodiments.

[0022]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing components of the workstation140 in greater detail. As shown in FIG. 2, one embodiment of theworkstation 140 comprises a processor 210, memory 230, which may bevolatile memory, nonvolatile memory, or a combination of both, a networkinterface 250, and a hardware interface 260, which are allinterconnected through a local bus 220. The hardware interface 260 isadapted to interface external components, such as a display device 270,to the bus 220. The network interface 250 is adapted to interface theworkstation 140 to the Internet 150 through connection 145 as shown inFIG. 1. The embodiment of FIG. 2 shows the IM client 130 loaded inmemory 230. Thus, the workstation 140 is adapted to engage in IMcommunications. It should, however, be appreciated that the workstation140 may be adapted for additional functions, such as Internet-based gameplaying or execution of other interactive software (not shown). Thememory also includes a listing of installed plug-ins 135 and anoperating system 240. In one embodiment, the listing of installedplug-ins 135 is configured as a predefined directory in which theinstalled plug-ins are stored. Since the IM client 130 provides greaterfunctionality and versatility than a standard web browser, plug-ins forthe IM client 130 are preferably stored in a separate listing from theplug-ins for web browsers. In an example embodiment, the IM plug-ins arecomponent object model (COM) objects that are downloadable from theplug-in server 180 (FIG. 1). In this regard, for a Windows™-basedsystem, a plug-in may be a COM object that registers a globally-uniqueidentifier (e.g., a CLSID key that identifies the COM object) in theWindows™ registry under a directory in “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/.”The CLSID key identifies the COM object that exports the plug-ininterface for use by the IM client 130. Since COM objects and CLSID keysare known to those of skill in the art, further discussion of COMobjects and CLSID keys are omitted here. It is, however, sufficient tonote that, once the IM client 130 is registered with a particularplug-in, the plug-in may be launched by the IM client 130 to processincoming data associated with the plug-in. Greater details of theoperation of the plug-in are discussed below. It should be appreciatedthat a helper application, which is a separate, free-standing softwareapplication, may be used in lieu of a plug-in. Thus, it should beappreciated that the following discussion of plug-ins is also applicableto helper applications, as well as other implementations for providingextended functionality.

[0023]FIG. 3A is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the IM client130. FIG. 3A also conceptually illustrates the connection between the IMclient 130, the IM server 170, the plug-in server 180, and a database190. The plug-in server 180 comprises one or more downloadable plug-ins390, which are adapted to extend the functionality of the IM client 130.The downloadable plug-ins 390 may include data encryption and decryptionsoftware, specifically-configured Internet web pages, workflowapplications, video games (both interactive and non-interactive),digital audio recorders and players, digital video recorders andplayers, etc. The IM client 130 comprises a parser 310, plug-in searchlogic 315, an index of registered plug-ins 320, which is correlated tothe plug-ins in the listing of installed plug-ins 135, plug-in downloadlogic 325, plug-in installation logic 330, and plug-in execution logic335.

[0024] In an example embodiment, when the IM client 130 is initiallylaunched, plug-in search logic 315 in the IM client 130 searches thepredefined plug-in directory 135 to determine which plug-ins areinstalled in the plug-in directory 135. The installed plug-ins are thenregistered for subsequent access. Once the IM client 130 is engaged in aserver-mediated IM session, the IM client 130 may receive a data streamfrom the IM server 170. The parser 310 parses the received data streamfor an application identifier, which, in some embodiments, is anextensible markup language (XML) tag. In one embodiment, the applicationidentifier may be an XML tag that is correlated to a specific plug-in.For example, the XML tag may identify that the incoming data stream is adigital audio stream, which is to be processed by a digital audioplayer. Similarly, the XML tag may identify that the incoming datastream is an encrypted data stream, which is to be decrypted by adecryption application. In another embodiment, the applicationidentifier may be a generic tag that has data of a specificmulti-purpose Internet mail extension (MIME)-type, which is correlatedto a particular application. In that embodiment, the generic tag may beparsed to locate the MIME extension and relate the MIME extension to aspecific plug-in.

[0025] Once the parser 310 has identified the plug-in, the IM client 130preferably determines whether or not that plug-in has been registered.If that plug-in has been registered, then the plug-in execution logic335 launches the plug-in 350. In one embodiment, the launching of theplug-in 350 includes a loading of the plug-in into memory 230,initializing the plug-in, and creating a new instance of the plug-in atthe IM client 130. In this regard, multiple instances of a plug-in maybe loaded by the IM client 130. As shown in this embodiment, the lifecycle of the plug-in is determined by the IM client 130. In this regard,when the IM client 130 shuts down, then the plug-in 350 also shuts down.Conversely, if a helper application is launched, then the life cycle ofthe helper application need not be governed by the IM client 130. Sincelife cycle management of plug-ins and helper applications is known tothose of skill in the art, further discussion of life cycle managementis omitted here.

[0026] If the IM client 130 determines that the plug-in has not beenregistered, then the plug-in download logic 325 downloads the plug-in350 from the plug-in server 180, and the plug-in installation logic 330installs the plug-in 350 at the predefined listing. Upon installing theplug-in 350, the IM client registers the plug-in 350 as described above.The registered plug-in 350 is then launched by the plug-in executionlogic 335.

[0027]FIGS. 4 through 7 are data flow diagrams showing embodiments ofmethods for extending IM functionality. As shown in FIG. 4, oneembodiment of the method begins when an IM client 130 receives (402) anIM data stream. The embodiment of FIG. 4 shows the IM data stream beingreceived from an IM server 170. However, it should be appreciated that,in a peer-to-peer environment, the IM data stream may be directlyreceived from another IM client (not shown). The IM client 130 parses(404) the IM data stream for an application identifier. In someembodiments, the application identifier may be a plug-in tag thatspecifies a particular plug-in, while, in another embodiment, theapplication identifier may be a generic tag that includes data of aparticular MIME type, which is registered for a particular plug-in. Uponparsing (404) the IM data stream, the IM client 130 determines (406) theparticular plug-in that is associated with the application identifier.For example, if the tag indicates that the data is a digital audiostream, then the IM client 130 determines a digital audio player plug-into be the proper plug-in. Similarly, if the tag indicates that the datais an incoming workflow request, then the IM client 130 determines thata workflow application is the proper plug-in. Upon determining (406) theproper plug-in, the IM client 130 further determines (408) whether ornot it is registered with the plug-in. If the IM client 130 is notregistered with the plug-in, then the process continues to FIG. 5.Alternatively, if the IM client 130 is registered with the plug-in, thenthe process continues to FIG. 6.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 5, if the IM client 130 is not registered withthe plug-in, then the IM client 130 issues (502) a request for theplug-in to a plug-in server 180. In one embodiment, the plug-in server180 may be configured such that all of the plug-ins at the plug-inserver 180 are publicly accessible to every IM user who requests aplug-in. In another embodiment, the IM system may be configured so thatIM users have different access levels for different plug-ins. Forexample, a digital audio player plug-in may be accessible to all IMusers while a digital video plug-in may only be accessible to specifiedIM users. In another example, a workflow plug-in may only be accessibleto those IM users who are authorized participants designated by aworkflow server. Similarly, an interactive game plug-in may only beaccessible to those IM users who have subscribed to the interactivegame.

[0029] In the embodiment where different IM users have different accesslevels, the issued (502) request may include an access code or anelectronic certificate indicating an authorized download. Since manydifferent approaches to restricting downloads are known to those ofskill in the art, further discussion of authorized downloads is omittedhere. Once the request has been issued (502) by the IM client 130, theplug-in server 180 receives (504) the request for the plug-in anddetermines (506) whether or not the request includes an authorization todownload the plug-in. In one embodiment, this may be done by comparing areceived access code with a database having a list of approved accesscodes. Once the plug-in server 180 has determined (506) that thedownload is authorized, then the plug-in server 180 conveys (508) theappropriate installable plug-in to the IM client 130. The IM client 130receives (510) the installable plug-in and installs (512) the plug-in.The installed (512) plug-in is then registered (514). In one embodiment,the plug-in is registered as a COM object in the Windows™ registry undera directory in “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/.”

[0030] As shown in FIG. 6, once the proper plug-in has been registered,the IM client 130 launches (602) the plug-in 350 by loading the plug-in350 into memory, initializing the plug-in 350, and creating an instanceof the plug-in 350 at the IM client 130. The IM client 130 then conveys(604) to the plug-in 350 any data that may be delineated by theapplication identifiers in the received data streams. The plug-in 350receives (606) the data and executes (608) a function defined by theplug-in with the data to generate a result. For example, if the data isa digital audio stream, then the plug-in may play the digital audiostream. Similarly, if the data is part of an interactive video game,then the plug-in may provide a gaming environment.

[0031] If the plug-in is part of an interactive software application(e.g., workflow application, interactive video game, Internet-basedconferencing, etc.), then the result may be a prompt for feedback from auser at the IM client 130. In this regard, if the plug-in is aninteractive program, then the process may continue to FIG. 7, where theplug-in receives (702) input from a user. Upon receiving (702) theinput, the plug-in conveys (704) data, which is indicative of the input,to the IM client 130. The IM client 130 receives (706) the data andstructures (708) the data so that it may be transmitted using an IMmessage. The structured data is then conveyed (708) to the IM server170. Again, while the embodiment of FIGS. 4 through 7 show aserver-mediated IM process, it should be appreciated that the describedmethods are equally applicable in peer-to-peer IM processes.

[0032]FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the IMclient 130 of FIG. 1. The IM client 130 of FIG. 8 is specificallyconfigured to incorporate workflow functionality. As shown in FIG. 8,one embodiment of the system includes an IM client 130 in communicationwith an IM server 170 through an IM transport protocol object (TPO) 830.In this regard, the IM TPO 830 is adapted to receive messages from theIM server 170 and convey the received messages to the IM client 130.Similarly, the IM TPO 830 is adapted to receive messages from the IMclient 130 and convey the received messages to the IM server 170. Sincethe behavior of the IM TPO 830 is described in greater detail in theabove-referenced applications, further discussion of the IM TPO 830 isomitted here. However, it should be appreciated that the IM TPO 830 isconfigured so that messages generated by the IM client 130 arereformatted for compatibility with the IM server 170, and vice versa.

[0033] The system of FIG. 8 also includes a workflow server 810 incommunication with the IM server 170 through a workflow TPO 820. Theworkflow server 810 is adapted to control workflow processes 814 andmanage workflow participants 812 that are associated with the variousworkflow processes 814. In this regard, the workflow server 170generates workflow requests and receives responses to the requests inaccordance with the workflow processes 814. Similar to the IM TPO 830,the workflow TPO 820 provides compatibility between the IM server 170and the workflow server 810. Since the workflow server 810 may use aprotocol that is incompatible with IM, the workflow TPO 820 translatesmessages generated by the workflow server 810 into IM-compatiblemessages. Similarly, the workflow TPO 820 translates IM messagesgenerated by the IM server 170 into a protocol that is compatible withthe workflow server 810.

[0034] The system of FIG. 8 further comprises a plug-in server 180having various downloadable plug-ins 390 including a workflow plug-in850. The plug-in server 180 is coupled to the IM client 130, therebypermitting the IM client 130 to download appropriate plug-ins from theplug-in server 180. The workflow server 810, the IM server 170, and theplug-in server 180 are coupled to a database 190. The database 190 mayinclude an access code as described with reference to FIG. 5.

[0035] In operation, the workflow server 810 generates a workflowrequest identifying a particular workflow participant (e.g., an IMaddress of a workflow participant). The workflow request is relayed tothe workflow TPO 820, which queries the IM server 170 to determinewhether or not the workflow participant is present. In other words, forexample, the workflow TPO 820 determines whether the IM address of theworkflow participant indicates that the workflow participant is online.If the workflow participant is present, then the workflow TPO 820reformats the workflow request into an IM-compatible message and conveysthe IM-compatible message to the IM server 170. The IM server 170 relaysthe IM-compatible message to the IM TPO 830, which translates theIM-compatible message into a workflow request that is compatible withthe IM client 130. The translated workflow request is relayed message tothe IM client 130. The IM client 130 receives the translated workflowrequest and launches a workflow plug-in 850 to process the translatedworkflow request by, for example, prompting the workflow participant fora response. If the workflow participant responds to the request, thenthe response is conveyed from the workflow plug-in 850 to the IM client130. The IM client 130 relays the response to the IM TPO 830, whichtranslates the response into an IM-compatible message. The IM-compatiblemessage is conveyed to the IM server 130, which further relays theIM-compatible message to the workflow TPO 820. The workflow TPO 820reformats the response into the protocol of the workflow server 810 andconveys that response to the workflow server 810.

[0036] As seen from the embodiment of FIG. 8, employing an IM system toconvey workflow requests and responses results in fewer false-deliverymessages. In other words, unlike email-based workflow processes in whichonly delivery confirmation of the email is generally possible, theIM-based workflow process provides real-time notification as to whetheror not the workflow participant received a request by deliveringrequests to the participant after verifying that the participant ispresent. Thus, by delivering a workflow request to only those workflowparticipants who are present, the system of FIG. 8 provides a moreaccurate and efficient confirmation of delivery than workflow processesthat utilize email. Several embodiments of IM-based workflow processesare described with reference to FIGS. 9 through 17.

[0037]FIGS. 9 through 17 are data flow diagrams showing embodiments ofmethods for extending IM functionality. As shown in FIG. 9, oneembodiment of the process begins when a workflow server 810 generates(902) a workflow request for a selected IM address for a workflowparticpant. The generated (902) workflow request is conveyed (904) fromthe workflow server 810 to a workflow TPO 820, which receives (906) theworkflow request and queries (908) an IM server 170 to determine whetheror not the selected IM address is present on the network. The IM server170 receives (910) the query and returns (912) a result to the workflowTPO 820. The workflow TPO 820 receives (914) the result and evaluates(916) the result for presence of the selected IM address. If the resultindicates that the selected IM address is present on the network, thenthe process continues to FIG. 11. If, on the other hand, the resultindicates that the selected IM address is not present on the network,then the process continues to FIG. 10.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 10, if the selected IM address is not present,then the workflow TPO 820 generates (1002) a not-present message andconveys (1004) the not-present message to the workflow server 810. Theworkflow server 810 receives (1006) the not-present message and selects(1008) another IM address related to the workflow participant. Onceanother IM address has been selected (1008), the process returns to FIG.9.

[0039] If the selected IM address is present on the network, then theworkflow TPO 820 reformats (1102) and tags the workflow request, asshown in FIG. 11, so that the workflow request is IM compatible. In oneembodiment, the workflow request is tagged with an extensible markuplanguage (XML) tag, which indicates that the request is a workflowrequest. In another embodiment, the workflow request is tagged with ageneric XML tag, which indicates that a particular workflow-relatedmessage is embedded in the workflow request. In either event, the taggedworkflow request is conveyed (1104) to the IM server 170. The IM server170 receives (1106) the tagged workflow request and relays (1108) thetagged workflow request to an IM TPO 830. The IM TPO 830 receives (1110)the tagged workflow request and translates (1112) the workflow requestfor an IM client 130. The translated workflow request is relayed (1114)to the IM client 130, which receives (1116) the translated workflowrequest.

[0040] The process continues to FIG. 12 where the IM client 130 parses(1202) the translated workflow request for the particular tags (e.g.,XML workflow tags). Upon parsing (1202) the workflow request, the IMclient 130 determines (1204) from the parsed tags that a workflowplug-in is the appropriate plug-in for processing the received workflowrequest. Upon determining (1204) that the workflow plug-in is theappropriate plug-in, the IM client 130 further determines (1206) whetheror not the IM client 130 is registered with the workflow plug-in. Sincethe registering of the IM client 130 with plug-ins is described above,further discussion of registering IM clients is omitted here.

[0041] If the IM client 130 determines (1206) that the IM client 130 isregistered with the workflow plug-in, then the process continues to FIG.14. However, if the IM client 130 determines that the IM client 130 isnot registered with the workflow plug-in, then the process continues toFIG. 13.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 13, if the IM client 130 is not registered withthe workflow plug-in, the IM client 130 issues (1302) a request to aplug-in server 180 for the workflow plug-in. In one embodiment, thesystem may be configured so that only authorized users or participantsmay retrieve the workflow plug-in. In another embodiment, the workflowplug-in may be accessible to all users that request the workflowplug-in. If only authorized participants are permitted access to theworkflow plug-in, then the plug-in server 180 receives (1304) therequest and determines (1306) whether or not the request includesauthorization to retrieve (or download) the workflow plug-in. If it isdetermined (1306) that the download is authorized, then the plug-inserver 180 conveys (1308) the workflow plug-in to the IM client 130. TheIM client 130 receives (1310) the workflow plug-in, installs (1312) theworkflow plug-in, and registers (1314) the IM client 130 with theinstalled workflow plug-in.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 14, when the IM client 130 is registered withthe workflow plug-in, the IM client 130 creates (1402) an instance ofthe workflow plug-in 850. Upon creating (1402) the instance of theworkflow plug-in 850, the IM client conveys (1404) data that isdelineated by the tags in the workflow request to the workflow plug-in850. The workflow plug-in receives (1406) the data and processes thedata. In one embodiment, the processing of the data includes the step ofprompting (1408) a user for a response to the received data.

[0044] If a user is prompted (1408) for a response and the user providesa response, then the process continues to FIG. 15 where the workflowplug-in 850 receives (1502) the workflow response from the user andconveys (1504) the workflow response to the IM client-130. The IM clientreceives (1506) the workflow response and relays (1508) the workflowresponse to the IM TPO 830. The IM TPO 830 receives (1510) the workflowresponse and the process continues to FIG. 16.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 16, the IM TPO 830, upon receiving (1510) theworkflow response from the IM client 130, translates (1602) the workflowresponse into an IM-compatible workflow response. The translatedworkflow response is conveyed (1604) to the IM server 170. The IM server170 receives (1606) the translated workflow response and relays (1608)the translated workflow response to the workflow TPO 820. The workflowTPO 820 receives (1610) the translated workflow response and reformats(1612) the translated workflow response into the protocol of theworkflow server 810.

[0046] The process continues to FIG. 17 where the workflow TPO 820conveys (1702) the reformatted workflow response to the workflow server810. The workflow server 810 receives (1704) the reformatted workflowresponse and determines (1706) whether or not additional workflowprocesses should be executed. If it is determined (1706) that additionalworkflow processes should be executed, then the process returns to FIG.9. If, on the other hand, it is determined that no additional workflowprocesses are to be executed, then the process ends.

[0047] As shown with reference to FIGS. 9 through 17, by employing IM toconvey workflow messages, the presence aspect of IM may be used to moreaccurately confirm delivery of workflow requests. Additionally, byemploying IM, which is substantially a real-time mode of communication,workflow processes may be accelerated. In other words, unlike priorsystems employing email in which a reply may be significantly delayed,the IM-based workflow process is a more streamlined process.

[0048] The IM client 130, the parser 310, the plug-in search logic 315,the plug-in download logic 325, the plug-in installation logic 330, theplug-in execution logic 335, the plug-in 350, the workflow plug-in 850,and the downloadable plug-ins 390 of the present invention can beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.In the preferred embodiment(s), the IM client 130, the parser 310, theplug-in search logic 315, the plug-in download logic 325, the plug-ininstallation logic 330, the plug-in execution logic 335, the plug-in350, the workflow plug-in 850, and the downloadable plug-ins 390 areimplemented in software or firmware that is stored in a memory and thatis executed by a suitable instruction execution system. If implementedin hardware, as in an alternative embodiment, the IM client 130, theparser 310, the plug-in search logic 315, the plug-in download logic325, the plug-in installation logic 330, the plug-in execution logic335, the plug-in 350, the workflow plug-in 850, and the downloadableplug-ins 390 can be implemented with any or a combination of thefollowing technologies, which are all well known in the art: a discretelogic circuit(s) having logic gates for implementing logic functionsupon data signals, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)having appropriate combinational logic gates, a programmable gatearray(s) (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.

[0049] Any process descriptions or blocks in flow charts should beunderstood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code whichinclude one or more executable instructions for implementing specificlogical functions or steps in the process, and alternate implementationsare included within the scope of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention in which functions may be executed out of order from thatshown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverseorder, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understoodby those reasonably skilled in the art of the present invention.

[0050] The processes of FIGS. 4 through 7 and FIGS. 9 through 17 may beexecuted by computer code comprising an ordered listing of executableinstructions for implementing logical functions. In this regard, thecomputer code may be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use byor in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, orother system that can fetch the instructions from the instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. Inthe context of this document, a “computer-readable medium” can be anymeans that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport theprogram for use by or in connection with the instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device. The computer-readable medium can be, forexample but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device,or propagation medium. More specific examples (a nonexhaustive list) ofthe computer-readable medium would include the following: an electricalconnection (electronic) having one or more wires, a portable computerdiskette (magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (electronic), aread-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical),and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) (optical). Notethat the computer-readable medium could even be paper or anothersuitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can beelectronically captured, via for instance optical scanning of the paperor other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in asuitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.

[0051] Although exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, itwill be clear to those of ordinary skill in the art that a number ofchanges, modifications, or alterations may be made, none of which departfrom the spirit of the present invention. For example, while thepreferred embodiments illustrate plug-ins that are created and destroyedby the IM client, it should be appreciated that IM functionality may beextended by using helper applications that are executed as separate,free-standing applications. Additionally, while a specific embodiment ofa workflow plug-in is shown with reference to FIGS. 8 through 17, itshould be appreciated that a video game plug-in, an audio plug-in, avideo plug-in, or any number of other applications may be implementedusing the systems and processes described above. Specifically, it shouldbe appreciated that the embodiments described above are particularlyconducive to interactive applications such as interactive video games orinteractive business applications. In this regard, it should beappreciated that the above-described approaches may be extended to anyapplication that is amenable to interaction by multiple users.

[0052] All such changes, modifications, and alterations should thereforebe seen as within the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communication method comprising: receiving aworkflow request from a workflow server, the workflow request beingdirected to a specified instant messaging (IM) address; and formattingthe received workflow request to generate an IM data stream.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: issuing a query for presenceinformation to an IM server, the presence information being related tothe specified IM address.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:receiving presence information from the IM server in response to thequery for presence information, the presence information being oneselected from a group consisting of: a not-present indication; and apresent indication.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:generating an error message in response to receiving a not-presentindication; and conveying the generated error message to the workflowserver.
 5. The method of claim 3, further comprising: conveying the IMdata stream to the IM server in response to receiving a presentindication.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: receiving anIM response from the IM server, the IM response being indicative of aresponse to the workflow request; formatting the IM response to generatea workflow response; and conveying the workflow response to the workflowserver.
 7. A communication method comprising: receiving a workflowrequest at an instant messaging (IM) client; determining if the IMclient is registered with a workflow plug-in in response to receivingthe workflow request; and executing the workflow plug-in in response todetermining that the IM client is registered with the workflow plug-in.8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: receiving an input at theIM client, the input being indicative of a response to the workflowrequest; generating a workflow response from the received input; andconveying the workflow response.
 9. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising: downloading a workflow plug-in from a plug-in server inresponse to determining that the IM client is not registered with theworkflow plug-in; storing the downloaded workflow plug-in; andregistering the IM client with the downloaded workflow plug-in.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the downloading the workflow plug-incomprises: providing authentication information to the plug-in serverfor authentication by the plug-in server; and receiving the workflowplug-in from the plug-in server in response to the plug-in serverauthenticating the authentication information.
 11. An instant messaging(IM) system comprising: a workflow transport-protocol object (TPO)adapted to receive workflow requests from a workflow server, theworkflow TPO being further adapted to format the workflow requests togenerate an IM request data stream, the workflow TPO being furtheradapted to convey the IM request data stream; and an IM server adaptedto receive the conveyed IM request data stream from the workflow TPO,the IM server being further adapted to convey the IM request data streamto an IM client.
 12. The system of claim 11: wherein the IM server isfurther adapted to receive an IM response data stream from the IMclient, the IM server being further adapted to convey the IM responsedata stream to the workflow TPO; and wherein the workflow TPO is furtheradapted to receive the IM response data stream, the workflow TPO beingfurther adapted to format the IM response data stream to generate aworkflow response, the workflow TPO being further adapted to convey theworkflow response to the workflow server.
 13. An instant messaging (IM)system comprising: an IM client adapted to receive a workflow request;and a workflow plug-in adapted to process the workflow request.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13, wherein the IM client is further adapted to search apredefined directory for the workflow plug-in.
 15. The system of claim14, wherein the IM client is further adapted to launch the workflowplug-in in response to finding the workflow plug-in in the predefineddirectory.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the IM client is furtheradapted to download the workflow plug-in from a plug-in server inresponse to not finding the workflow plug-in in the predefineddirectory.